


The Inside

by E_I_Lorelai



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Friendship, Pain, Tragedy, hardship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-13 21:12:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3396512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E_I_Lorelai/pseuds/E_I_Lorelai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Never judge a book by its cover, a lesson four ninjas learn in the passage of time. Naruto Uzamaki, Sakura Haruro, Sasuke Uchiha, and Rin Kimiko are shoved together into a team, told to function together. Having each their own issue, they find it hard to do anything together. As Rin goes on her journey of life, she learns that sometimes a friend or two are needed along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Summary

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto/ Naruto: Shippuden franchise.

The hidden village of Konoha started its life much ever other village. Each life created a ripple of livelihood like a leaf falling into a pond. Each ripple, every life and every day was special but today was far more special than other days, for the Academy was graduating their latest generation of genin. Excitement was everywhere, from the citizens to the blue of the sky, to the sound of the trees swaying in the wind. It could be found in the sapphire blue eyes of a boy with yellow hair and bright smiles, and in the sounds of children's laughter. Yes, today, four unlikely children would be fatefully united to form a team. Four children, four stories, four lives would be thrust together into a team.

One of the four was the yellow haired boy whose smiles and jokes hid his pain and his loneliness. He had always been alone and hated, but he never understood why. During the day his smiles fooled even himself into believing he was happy and carefree, but at night, when he was away from prying eyes, his tears forced the truth onto him like a hot iron down his throat: he was unwanted.

The second was a girl with a forehead too big for her face, with eyes of emerald gems and hair of cherry blossoms. Although she acted high and mighty, she wanted nothing more than the approval of others. Most importantly, she wanted to matter to others and be a burden no longer.

The third was a boy with raven colored hair, a heart of stone and fiery eyes. The boy longed for perfection and finding error in everything. The boy was a victim and a culprit. His ice cold heart yearning to be freed from its prison built on hatred. His pride was begging for revenge against an ever-looming shadow that he could never overcome. Onyx eyes cold like stone and blood eyes like the hate that ran in his veins. Eyes and heart that both longed to be freed from pride, hate, and all the bitterness that existed inside of him.

Finally, the fourth was a girl whose appearance could deceive all whom met her. Clothes that were too big for her and a face hidden from the world behind a scarf that only served as a memory. Her messy hair of silver and eyes of molten gold made her unique. Her cursed eyes were always looking down, protecting herself from the pain of others. Her hair was pulled back messily but in a way that would hide her face from the world. She stayed quiet and became invisible in crowds, but how she longed to be happy and able to see the world through her own eyes.

Four lives were going to be pushed into each other and they were going to fight against one another and against ever opponent thrown at them until they were freed from an unwanted, hateful, burden-filled perception of a team.


	2. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto/Naruto: Shippuden franchises.

There was a time when Rin Kimiko, was happy. She walked along the streets of Kirigakure with her older brother, hand in hand, content. They were orphans, so they never really had any food, but they had each others' company and that's really all that mattered to her. Her older brother was named Nazoko, and he was really nice to her. It was hard to believe that they were siblings at first because they simply held no immediate similarities. Nazoko had shaggy black hair with brilliant blue eyes while Rin had bright silver hair, radiant against the sun, and golden eyes. She didn't remember what happened to their mother, but Nazoko told her a very bad man took her away, which is why they were always hiding. Nazoko of course, knew that he couldn't tell his little sister that their mother was killed over her eyes, which were identical to Rin's golden ones. He heard stories when he was younger, that their mother was a great shinobi because of her eyes, but now as he was no longer a boy, but a man, he understood that her eyes were her demise. He couldn't let Rin know about their power, that way she would remain safe, so he placed her over a genjutsu his mother taught him that repressed the kekkei genkai. Now her eyes were ebony instead of gold.

One day, when Rin was 6, and Nazoko was 15, he woke her up roughly and told her that they had to run away. So, they packed up what little they owned, and ran into the forest. Many days and nights passed and Nazoko insisted that they keep going. When they finally saw a village not too far away, Nazoko smiled and said to Rin, "We'll be safe once we walk through those gates." Giddy with childish anticipation, she tugged on his hand and started running. That's when everything changed. She didn't see how it happened, but suddenly, Nazoko was in front of her and as she glanced down, she that his chest was pierced with an arrow. He was bleeding profoundly and so she cried and screamed in horror. No sooner had she screamed that she saw a man, that resembled a snake, with long black hair and a purple roped-obi, smirking and walking towards her. She was dead. She was sure of it, so she got closer to her brother and whimpered. Nazoko took a dying step and stood as a barrier between Rin and the strange man. The man, who only smiled more deviously at their feeble attempt, walked forward only to stop with a grunt. He heard a twig snap and jumped back. In front of them, now, were a man of silver hair, and a young man with long black hair.

Rin was scared, her brother was wounded and now there were men fighting in front of them. She whimpered and shut her eyes tightly, and then she got closer to get brother who was breathing heavily in front of her. Nazoko knew that he was going to die, but he couldn't leave his sister defenseless. "Rin? Please look at me..." he whispered raggedly. He felt horrible about doing this, truly, but there was no other way to make her understand. Nazoko had to activate her kekkei genkai, Kinshinsen. When she opened her black coal eyes, she couldn't help but flinch at the sounds of a battle unfolding around them. He then uttered something under his breath and looked her straight in the eyes. As the black receded and her golden eyes once again shone brightly she held her head in confusion. Her mind was invaded by thoughts that weren't her own and memories that couldn't be hers. This was the Kimiko Clan kekkei genkai, passed on mother to daughter, the ability to look someone in the eye and feel what they feel, think what they think, and remember what they did.

Nazoko could see that she was scared so tried to make her understand so he thought, _Rin, you're special. You always have been. I'm sorry I had to hide this from you, but I don't think I've got much time to explain why-_

"No... You're not going to die... Nazoko don't go, please…" she whispered tiredly.

Nazoko could see that all this mayhem was wearing her out so he cupped her cheek and thought, _You'll be safe here. I'll still protect you, you just won't be able to see me anymore. You can trust the people of this village. They'll help you..._

Rin's eyes started to droop involuntary, and she didn't have the strength to stay up, so she crumbled to the ground. Everything around her happened too quickly for her to understand, so she closed her eyes after saying, "Goodbye, 'Niisan..."

She became unaware of the world around her, but that was not the case for the world around her. Nazoko, grunted in pain and held his sister close, he knew that the men fighting against his aggressor were members of the village because of their hitai-ates; however, he also recognized the other man and knew that if these two shinobis did not injure him heavily or, less likely, kill him, Rin would be in a lot of trouble. Nazoko remembers seeing that man the day his mother had disappeared. He kissed the top of her forehead as he prepared to do something that would surely kill him. He closed his eyes and focused to create a genjutsu to turn his eyes the same shade of gold as Rin's. When he knew it was in place he stood up, grasping his chest in pain. "Leave her alone…" he mustered as loudly as he could manage, which granted, wasn't very loud. It worked though, all three shinobi turned their sights on him, and as he made eye contact with the man of the purple obi, he knew his plan would work. With newfound bravery, he limped closer and said, "Take me instead…"

The silver haired shinobi furrowed his eyes and lost his concentration for a second too long, because in that second, the snake man took his offer and sped away to grab him. The other shinobi took this as an advantage and swooped quickly to get Rin; somehow, Nazoko believed that he saw right through his genjutsu. Nazoko looked him and nodded in appreciation, before he felt a stabbing pain at his neck, from a bite that the snake man inflicted.

Rin's eyes opened on their own accord when she felt someone pick her up quickly. She saw the younger man, his hair tied back, and his eyes, which were red pinwheels, above her, so she figured she was being carried. She could hear his dilemma when he looked at her, so she looked away, wanting only to see her brother, because she could see that this shinobi, Itachi, she believed his name was, worried over her, and her only. So she looked around wildly, unfortunately, she did so only in time to see her brother's body being hauled away by the man in the purple rope, and as he sped away, she could see that Nazoko was still alive, so before losing consciousness again, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Nazoko-Niisan!" She was hyperventilating, eyes wide, as she saw the other man with silver hair speed away, chasing them.

Then her world went dark, cold, and became ever so lonely.


	3. Six Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It is easier to find me who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience." 
> 
> ~ Julius Caesar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: ... I don't own anything but the plot and my own characters.

_~ Six Years Later~_

Rin looked in the mirror hanging in her bathroom briefly before looking down and exiting the room. Ever since the incident that brought her to Konoha, she let her silver hair grow over the right side of her face, covering her right eye, and slightly above her other eye, just barely letting her see. The rest of her hair was divided into a ponytail sitting on top of her head and a portion left down. She reached down for the blue scarf that hung on top of a picture of Nazoko, as she wrapped it around her neck, she said, "Don't worry, Niisan, I'll make you proud. I'm going to take the next step to get you back. I'll graduate and get you back so I can return your scarf, I promise…"

Then she was off, she walked, eyes down of course, to the Academy. She never looked up when she walked in crowds, because there was always a chance that someone would catch her eyes and she would have to deal with emotions that weren't her own, and feel the pity that everyone had for her. That didn't mean she didn't hear it though, and the villagers weren't too quiet when they decided to rain pitying words whenever they pass her. Rin couldn't stand it, it was always the same, 'Poor girl, and an orphan, in a foreign village' or her favorite, 'That little orphan is a crazy freak, with those abilities and then the fact that she still thinks that brother of hers is alive… She's a danger to the village.'

The worst part was _knowing_ that they were right, not about her brother, but her kekkei genkai. Because of it, she was only herself when she didn't look at people. Since there was no one to help it control it, or at least no one she trusted, it had advanced to the point that a mere glance would keep her connected with that person for hours. In other words, it was torture. She had spoken with the Third Hokage about repressing the Kinshinsen, but he denied her request due to complications with her usage of it. Once the Kinshinsen was active for more than a week and is used unconsciously, repressing it could cause permanent blindness. As she arrived to the academy, she went straight for the last desk on the top row, one that no one sat on, because _she_ sat there. She was known to be extremely eerie, because she spoke less than Sasuke, and that in itself was a feat.

Class started as usual, with Iruka going on about uselessly about proper behavior expected of future shinobi and such pointless prattle. Eventually he asked them to do a Transformation Jutsu, and since he had obviously not seen that Naruto had once again ditched, Rin transformed into him before joining the rest of the class at the front of the classroom. One by one, the students transformed into Iruka, when Naruto's name was called, luckily second to last (her own being last), she stepped forward, and could see some of the students looking at her strangely, probably do to the fact that she was silent and Naruto was the definition of loud. Nevertheless, when Iruka nodded his head Rin closed her eyes, and concentrated as she made the hand signs. It was difficult to transform once you were already transformed, but she put most of her chakra reserve into it and transformed. Once the smoke cleared, she could see that everyone was shocked, including Iruka. She glanced down briefly, confirming that she indeed transformed successfully.

Her success though, was shortly outlived. No sooner had Iruka smiled and was about to congratulate 'Naruto' than another cloud of smoke emitted, and as it cleared she saw a different type of shock settle on the faces of everyone. She stumbled and Iruka grasped her by the arm and once he stabilized her he started stuttering, "But how…wait if that wasn't Naruto… then…NARUTO!"

Iruka dismissed everyone for lunch as he stomped out angrily, no doubt, to look for Naruto. Rin reprimanded herself harshly as everyone started to head out for lunch. She should have been able to last a couple more seconds before both jutsus collapsed, which meant that while she was able to a C-rank jutsu her stamina was still low. She closed her eyes and walked out of the classroom; at the very least she could enjoy lunch without having to hear Naruto's loud and rambunctious fights with everyone who so much as looked too long at him. It was completely impractical to have the only orphans of the Academy in the same complexes, especially since hers resided between Naruto's and Sasuke's. Well, not exactly, she lived in the complex under Sasuke's and the meant that she had the _honor_ of seeing exactly how incompetent Naruto really was and hearing Sasuke's monosyllabic replies. She imagined she lived in the one place every girl in the whole village wanted to live, under Uchiha Sasuke.

That is, every girl but her. Unlike most children their age, she not only knew of the Uchiha Massacre, but she also knew _who_ had done it. Itachi had been kind to her when she was recovering upon her arrival, and he was reliable because he could always tell her the truth, no matter how much it hurt her. This meant that often, Sasuke and Rin saw each other, whether it was because he was accompanying his brother to check up on her, or whenever all three of them trained together. Or more accurately, Itachi helped them train. Itachi was her mentor, even if he was a bit unwanted. She believed that he was intrusive and wanted to be left alone, but he was persistent and she was thankful for it because it gave her the courage to become stronger and save her brother. Of course, Itachi was honest with her and told her that he believed that Nazoko was dead, but that never stopped her from hoping. She and Sasuke were pretty close back then, but after the Massacre, they both shut the world out. Rin lost the only other person who honestly cared about her and so she decided to stop ignore the world.

As she walked into her complex she saw Sasuke waiting by her door, head down, hands in his pockets like usual, so she stopped. Without looking up, he threw something in her direction. Rin caught it and looked at it, it was a note and it said, 'Meet me on the roof.' She blinked and looked up and, like expected, he was no longer there. She thought about it briefly, before walking into her apartment. She grabbed an apple bit it and then strapped her weapon pouch tighter to her leg as she grabbed another apple. Rin made her way to the roof slowly, once there, she looked around and saw him leaned up against the ledge eating his lunch. She walked within earshot distance and stopped. "What do you want?" she asked in a monotone voice.

As usual, her glance was casted towards the ground, but when several minutes passed without response, she looked up. He was staring back at her, _Impressive, what you did at the Academy, I mean._

She frowned and reprimanded her self as she looked away, she acknowledged his compliment by nodding, but even as she looked down, she remembered that she was still in his mind and could feel the anger towards himself for being behind her. Sasuke was not only angry, he was full of hatred towards Itachi, but the thing that surprised Rin the most was the familiar emptiness she felt within herself. It was seemingly impossible for her to believe that she and Sasuke could share anything at all, let alone these heavy feelings, or rather lack there of.

"Am I to believe that you called me up here for that?" she spoke in anger.

 _No. I recalled that you have this ability of yours and wanted to test it out for myself,_ he thought.

Without another word, she spun around and walked back in the building, but she knew that he was going to stay in her mind for a longer period of time, so she did her best to ignore all the emotions that overtook her and all his invading thoughts. She ate her spare apple quickly and made her way back to the Academy. It was tedious to have to wait for everyone to return, but it couldn't be helped. As students filled in with their groups of friends, there was the usual chatter that filled the room. Iruka returned soon after with Naruto in tow. As punishment, they were made to once more transform into Iruka. Soon after that they were called in one by one for the graduation test which was fairly simple, a clone jutsu, which seemed to relieve many students. One by one they were called and when her name was called she walked in unfazed, when the go ahead was given, she did the hand signs as quickly as she could manage and managed to produce five separate clones. She was given her congratulation and finally, her headband. She had been waiting for this moment since her first day at the Academy. Finally, a step closer to her brother!

She walked out and ignored the cheering of children and their parents and walked to the complex quietly. When she entered her, she saw the Hokage standing with his hands clasped behind his back. She sighed and looked down as she greeted him, "To what do I owe your visit, Hokage?"

"I come to tell you that you will be placed in a five member team, unlike the usual four member team, as a measure of improvement over you eyes and your teamwork abilities. I don't wish to place in a team where you will fail, I need you to become better and learn teamwork. This way you can gain control over your eyes…" he spoke in a firm voice.

"I understand." She hesitated and then took a deep breath to continue, "Can I ask you something?"

He turned around and nodded slowly not being used to her being hesitant. "Do you think, honestly, that I will be able to control it?"

He didn't answer at first, taking his time to think of a careful answer. This made her uncomfortable so she shifted her feet and waited as patiently as she could. Finally settling with a sensible answer, the Hokage responded, "I believe that your path will be long and hard, and sometimes, it may seem impossible, but your determination will decide if you can achieve control over your visual prowess." Content with his answer, she bowed her head in respect as he walked around her to leave the apartment.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur as she meditated and took a short cat nap. When she woke, the sun had gone down, so she cursed and ate some food so she could go to the forest. When she was feeling overwhelmed, she would go to the forest and train by herself. As she ate, silence overcame the apartment, this was strange. Naruto was usually laughing or complaining, or even yelling at Sasuke, but it was completely silent, almost like a grave. Rin shook of the thought, whatever happened to that boy was his own doing, and she cleaned quickly and made her way to the forest. But she wasn't ready for the surprise that shocked her to the core.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible."  
> ~Maya Angelou

On her way to the forest, Rin had heard some commotion with the jounin of the village, but she didn’t think much on it, after all the newest genin were in need of senseis for the next day. She should’ve paid closer attention as to what all the commotion was about though, because as she walked into the forest boundary she could hear the faint sounds of a battle occurring not to far from her position. Again, she ignored it, it wasn’t rare for others to spar in the forest but she didn’t once connect the disarray in the village to the battle, and that was her mistake.

As usual she started out with simple katas, but as she felt her body relax she snapped her eyes opened and grinned. This was the only time she could truly push her limits, there was no one to hide her eyes from, no worries, and so she began her training. She jumped into the air and grabbed a low branch and pulled herself up until she was standing on the branch, she grabbed two kunais then threw it into the air, as it left her hand she dropped to the ground and held the other kunai directly above her as she waited for the other to fall. As she saw it descend, she channeled chakra into the kunai and became stone still, and the second the two kunais met, tip to tip, she let the other go and swung her leg out. She had been practicing this for a while and hadn’t gotten much of a result, but as her foot met the end of one of the kunais she could see her patience had paid off. Instantly, the two weapons were launched across a few trees until they embedded themselves into a tree a few meters away, one above the other. She smirked in triumph and went to retrieve them, but as she pulled the weapons from their temporary sheath, she felt a surge of chakra that was far too immense to be human. In her shock she slashed her palm, and she held it in partial shock and partial pain.

Quickly, she pulled some bandages and wrapped them around her hand tightly. Full of curiosity, she went forth to find the source of this power and as she neared the source she couldn’t believe her ears or her eyes. That voice, that annoying, exasperating voice, it belonged to no other than Uzamaki Naruto. And that _had_ to be a mistake on her part. She neared the voice, or what seemed to be many voices, in a sly way, trying to go unnoticed. When she was close enough to identify what was going on, her breath came up short. Indeed, it was Naruto, but it seemed impossible. There were hundreds of clones, and she knew from the chakra signatures that these were not just illusion, but actual _clones_. But how was this possible? Surely there had to be a logical explanation for this. Earlier the same day, he couldn’t create _one_! This made no sense… to go from a pathetic clone to hundreds in one _day_? She could feel her heart racing in her chest as she tried to process al the information that was drowning her senses. She could _feel_ the chakra that was being emitted by this boy, but it was different than any chakra she’d ever felt, almost too animalistic and too natural. Something was different about this boy, but that’s not what bothered her.

From the time she first set foot in the Academy, she had promised herself never to underestimate anyone she was faced with or ever judge someone without knowing them, colleague, sensei or other wise; because she could see the way others looked at her and the way they judged her and she despised it. And now, a few years later, she was the one who was judging Naruto with absolutely no knowledge on his past, his feelings. She was in awe of his power, yes, but in her self-loathing, she ran away quickly and rushed to her apartment. Despite the fact that Rin had a better sense of respect towards Naruto now, she couldn’t get over the fact that she was being such an insolent hypocrite. As she walked into the complex, she pushed passed a few girls who were, no doubt, waiting in vain to speak and congratulate Sasuke, and then shut the door behind her. Her breath was ragged and came up shot, and she knew that it wasn’t from the run. This was physically taking a toll on her, as she raised her hand to wash it in the sink, she saw it shake. Rin clenched her hand and even though it pained her, it stopped shaking at much. She cleaned it thoroughly through teary eyes, not because of the pain caused in her hand, but the one in her heart and mind. After her hand was wrapped correctly, she walked into her bedroom and stumbled into her bed.

This couldn’t be happening. She was getting over worked over something silly, right? It shouldn’t bug her this much, not to the point of completely breaking down like she was now. She clenched her hands tightly, ignoring the pain, and changed into her sleeping gown she had to get over this. If Nazoko were here he would have said, ‘Rin, you must learn to not let your emotions get the best of you. You have to remember that there are people in this world who wish to harm us, so chin up, okay?’ He said it was okay to cry if the reason was warranted, but in a situation such as the one she was faced with was uncalled for such meaningless tears. Taking deep breaths, she resolved to forget all this nonsense. She had to be stronger than this if she was to rescue her brother. And despite the fact that she felt bad about being such a hypocrite, Rin climbed into bed and said as she did every night, “Good night Nazoko.” She closed her eyes and let the obscurity of sleep overtake her.

Sasuke grunted in disregard as one by one he heard the girls clear the hallway leading to his apartment. It was unbelievable how persistent these girls were; day after day they would follow him from a ‘distance’ and giggle, laugh, and trot around like idiots. They were pretty easy to avoid, but when he couldn’t it was hard to completely ignore the childlike whispers and giggles. It was distracting, but instead he saw it as practice, if he could concentrate while they were around, then surely his focus during battles would improve. As he started getting ready to go to bed he began to analyze Rin, as he used to when he was younger. She just made no sense. It had been proven time and time again that the chances of her brother being alive were close to nonexistent and yet she continued to believe that, against all odds, he was alive. Even then, Rin was strange on her own, only she would have this tremendous ability and want to suppress it instead of refining it. He shook his head in disapproval, when he had, more or less, recovered from the Massacre, he had hoped that perhaps he and Rin would remain friends and then set out together to kill Itachi; but that wasn’t the case. Instead of becoming allies, they became distant and this was because he could see that she held no abhorrence, no hatred, towards Itachi. She was offended, yes, but not enough.

It was almost tragic, but he could care less. Her misery was her and he accepted that, just like she accepted his. The little occurrence earlier that day was the closest they had gotten to speaking since the Massacre, and he was disappointed in himself. He truly did want to test out her ability, but the true reason he wanted to talk to her was to tell her she needed help. Perhaps she not physically weak, but he often heard her whimper at nights when she was asleep and he knew, from experience, that they were nightmares. He still had them, and as much as he hated to admit it, he hoped that things would get better if he talked about it with someone. But he was too proud to ask for help from people who couldn’t possibly understand his position, so by offering to ‘help’ her, he would be helping himself.

He yawned, a warning that he would soon fall asleep, and so he sat on his bed. Maybe he would draw the courage to ask her, although he didn’t really believe it. Surely, he didn’t need help; he was an Uchiha after all.

Even as she slept, Rin’s subconscious couldn’t shake the memories that the day’s events were bringing up. She was seven all over again, and it was the first day of the Academy, by then the Hokage had already spoken to her about her choices and she had decided, with the help of Itachi, to enroll into the Academy. It was supposed to be a really exciting experience but Itachi had become more isolated than usual and she was walking into this situation blind. She supposed that she could rely on Sasuke once she arrived, but she wasn’t exactly sure about that. The Hokage had warned her that it would be hard for her to get accustomed to all the staring and people whispering about her, since she was, after all, feared for her ability and her seclusion from society. Many people tended to avoid her when she was out, and the rest just looked at her with pity. She was currently getting ready to go, and that’s when she looked at her brother’s scarf. It was perched on its hanger like usual, but she had never taken it out of the apartment. It was the only thing that silver-haired ninja, Kakashi, was able to recover when he chased them down. Her heart beat with trepidation at the thought of going to the Academy, she knew that Sasuke was going to be accompanied by his parents and Itachi, but unlike everyone else, she was going to go alone. She had no one; even if the Hokage and Itachi always tried their best to help her out, moments like this reminded her how alone she truly was. That’s when she remembered what Nazoko told her, ‘I’ll still protect you, you just won’t be able to see me anymore.’

Her expression hardened and she looked at her brother’s scarf with newfound determination. She grabbed it and wrapped it around her neck, it was a bit longer, as was to be expected and it almost dragged, but she adjusted it to fit her height. Now she was ready, because her brother was with her, at least in spirit, and she would start her training so she could get Nazoko back and they’d be together again. Rin grinned and made her way to the Academy, but it disappeared as soon as she reached the front doors. There were a lot of people here, from parents to students and it made her drop her gaze down. When she had regained consciousness after getting to Konoha, she was overwhelmed with all the thoughts of the nurses, and doctors; it was a complete nightmare. The Hokage had helped her understand what her kekkei genkai did and how it worked, but it was too late to suppress it. No one else had anymore knowledge on it, and even though Kakashi said he could help her, she turned him away. She was upset with him because he had failed to return her brother. Despite that childish resentment, she had various rendezvous with him by ‘coincidence’ or so he said, and Rin had grown attached to him and thought of him as an uncle or something close in relevance.

She still didn’t accept his offer, regardless of her thoughts of him, mainly because she was afraid to try to advance her prowess, which was needed to control it. She was in such turmoil as it was, and she hadn’t scratched the surface of what she could do. Rin took a deep breath and waited for her name to be called, as the masses of students were separated into classrooms. When she heard her name called out into the same classroom as Sasuke, hope blossomed in her, hoping they would talk. Everyone sat down in the classroom as a man introduced himself as Iruka-sensei. He seemed very amiable, but seemed to be strict concerning the rules around here. He asked for a volunteer to introduce themselves. A hand shot up into the air and a boy with bright yellow hair stood on the desk with enthusiasm, without waiting for a response from Iruka, he ran to the front of the room and shouted in a clear voice, “I’m Uzamaki Naruto! And I’m going to be better than all of you so don’t be disappointed when I beat all of you, believe it!” Iruka then reprimanded him on respect and humility for a while before he started calling everyone by rows to introduce themselves.

Everyone said their names and eventually he reached her, and instead of standing up and going to the front like everyone else, she stayed in her seat in the back and said, “I’m Kimiko Rin.” And that was it. As rude as it was to do that, it was the safest thing to do; she couldn’t risk catching someone’s eye as she made her way to the front. Iruka looked at her and asked her to please get up and introduce herself properly. She only shook her head and kept her head down, so Iruka asked to see her during the lunch break. At this, many of the kids snickered and made snide remarks. The rest of the day she was stared at with contempt and she was avoided by all the kids, even Sasuke, who chose to train instead of paying her any attention. She waited in her seat when everyone ran out of the room to eat, and Iruka walked up to her, “Listen, I talked to the Hokage, so I understand your situation, but you should participate more, or else you’ll fall behind, alright?” She merely nodded her head and headed out. They both knew she wouldn’t really participate as much as anyone, unless it was really necessary for her to. Rin was a fast learner and she wasn’t going to ignore the lessons, just learn from a different perspective, besides she was better as a hands-on learner.

As she walked outside all conversations stopped, most of the other children were glaring at her, she could feel it, it was a horrible sensation and as she walked by a table a kid tripped her and said, “My mom said I should stay away from you, you’re a freak! And you were rude to Iruka-sensei; you shouldn’t be allowed to train at all…” She ignored the comment but a lot of kids sniggered at it. She felt horrible and ran away to her apartment were she crumbled in anger. Why was it that people could be so cruel? The worse part was that they were just children. They didn’t know the damage their words inflicted, how much it hurt. She promised herself to never make someone feel like that, ever. She stood up with a fierce look in her eyes, ‘ _No one will hurt me like that ever again!_ ”

When Rin woke up the next morning, she gave little thought to the dream she had, but she was glad it wasn’t a nightmare like usual. They were horrifying and they had gotten worse, but she refused to tell anyone about it, she could handle it. Now, though, she wore Nazoko’s scarf with even more pride, knowing that it fit her better than before, a sign that she was growing up. It was usually a big deal to wear the hitai-ate after receiving it, but she grabbed it and tied it around her hip. Rin made her way to the Academy after a quick breakfast, which was mostly full by the time she arrived. Everyone stared when Naruto walked in, and someone went as far as to tell him that today was only for genin, which is when he flashed his headband with pride.

She tried to ignore everyone until Iruka put them into groups, so she kept her head down. When Iruka walked in she noticed that something had happened between Sasuke and Naruto because they were glaring at each other while all of the girls, except Hinata and me, were staring daggers at Naruto. Slowly kids were called into teams as Iruka explained that we were in teams that would balance out the abilities. I perked up when I heard that Team 7 would have an extra member, knowing this was my team I listened for the names. Naruto was called first, and while it might have been coincidence, Rin sensed that the Hokage knew that she saw what had happened and placed him on her team on purpose. Then Haruno Sakura was called out and she grimaced, I wasn’t too thrilled to be on her team. She was okay and got good enough grades, but she was completely daft and part of the Sasuke Fangirl Club, which was enough to make her distasteful. When Sasuke’s name was called, Naruto was dismayed, Sakura was thrilled, and I was in shock. Now she was sure that the Hokage was involved in this, and he would get an earful when she got the chance. Naruto then went on complaining that he was better than Sasuke, when the latter insulted him; Iruka stopped him and told him that Sasuke got the highest while Naruto got the lowest.

This much was true, but she made an internal comment that she didn’t get the greatest grades either. She lacked in participation, but she made up in performance, which landed her with a fair enough final grade. The rest of the day was uneventful for her, but she heard the other trio in the team had gotten into some misunderstanding. Rin only hoped that this wouldn’t delay her. The next day was when they would meet their senseis and came to pick them up and head out. Little by little, the room was emptied and the only ones left were them, Team 7. Sakura was staring at Sasuke for a while before she turned her attention to Rin, “Hey, you’re always really quiet. Maybe we can be friends and then you wouldn’t have to be so quiet! We could hang out and talk about things we like. Hey don’t you live in the same complex as Sasuke-kun? You’re so lucky; I bet you get a bunch of chances to talk to him! Hey, Rin, are you listening to me?”

Rin took a deep breath and then proceeded to stand up and walk to the other end of the room and said, “I don’t want to be friends with anyone. Don’t take it personally, but you talk a lot.”

She looked pretty annoyed but she waved it off and continued to look at Sasuke and making a comment about how late their sensei was. Naruto, meanwhile, was being the usual clown, and  

Naruto started to get impatient and proceeded to place the eraser between the door and the wall. Sakura warned him not to and Sasuke said, “Our sensei is a jounin, so wouldn’t fall for something as dumb as that.” Not surprising at all, Sakura agreed with him, and that’s when their sensei opened the door. Naruto burst out in laughter when the eraser fell unto silver hair. Sakura apologized and denied having anything to do with it, while Sasuke stared at him. I sighed; of course Kakashi would be in charge of Team 7. “My first impression of you: you are a bunch of idiots.” Everyone looked shocked, but in reality, Rin was expecting some kind of remark like that from Kakashi, it was in his nature to do something like that.

They were ushered outside and then to the roof of the Academy. She decided to stay in the room until they were all outside and then she made her way to the rooftop through a different route: the trees. She hid in the high branches of a tree near the roof as Kakashi explained how he wanted us to introduce ourselves. He gave a vague example before he motioned Naruto to start. “I’m Uzamaki Naruto, believe it! I like instant ramen in a cup and I _really_ like the ramen that Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop, but I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different types of ramen and comparing them. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and me like I’m somebody. Somebody important!”

Usually, Rin would have just ignored it, but after what she witnessed, she knew that he’d earn respect sooner or later. Sakura spent her introduction staring at Sasuke, and it wasn’t hard to guess what she was thinking of, and then turned to insult Naruto, so Kakashi said, “Okay, last one.” Sasuke never moved, but he spoke in a clear voice, “My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don’t particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I’m going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone.”

“Good, you’re all unique and hold your own ideas-” Kakashi started but was interrupted

Naruto sprung up and said, “Hey, wait, what about the other girl? Rin-chan? Where is she anyways?!”

Kakashi turned to look towards my tree, and said, “She’s been here all along hasn’t she? Why don’t you come down and introduce yourself, Rin?”

She jumped down and glared at Kakashi, she knew he wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “But, why? You already know me?”

Sasuke tried not to care, but it was impressive that she was giving Kakashi an attitude. Naruto and Sakura were both in shock that she was being so rude and she claimed to know him. “Well, then, why don’t you humor me, and introduce yourself to _them_. I’m sure they know as little as your name.” Kakashi replied. She took a breath and walked towards them. If she had to work with them, they had to know a little about her. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad as she thought.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story here, so I would appreciate any support that is given, also any type of review is helpful, do you like it, hate it? Let me know, so I can make the story better. I love reading, and I love writing, so I know that sometimes some works are boring, but as the author, I might not see it, so by letting me know, your reading material will be improved! I try to answer all the questions and I will to try to update at least once a month, although the first three chapters will be uploaded at the same time, just because I can.
> 
> If you know any good reads, let me know too, because I'm always looking for new reading material!
> 
> Your raven,
> 
> E. I. Lorelai


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